METS, the world's largest trade show of the international marine leisure industry. on now in Amsterdam, has just announced the winners of their annual DAME Design Awards

Exemplifying the world trend towards recognizing efforts to end the use of oil-based propulsion, the overall winner of the Award for 2012 is the Deep Blue Electric Outboard by Torqeedo, of Germany, announced by the DAME jury today at the start of the show.

'The jury believes that the new Deep Blue large electric outboard from Torqeedo GmbH is an exceptional example of groundbreaking research and development — one which will bring great benefits to both the users and builders of marine craft,' the awards panel said in a statement.

'Through substantial financial investment Torqeedo has successfully combined two established, yet distinct technologies — the large outboard engine and electric motor — for the first time. In doing so they have created a revolutionary integrated propulsion system that is striking in its styling and highly notable for its innovation.'

The panel also said the package 'promises to provide a cleaner, quieter and more economical boating experience for many people in the years to come.'

DAME jury chairman Bill Dixon said the caliber of entrants in this year's competition was as strong as ever.

'The excellent quality of the 2012 DAME Design Award entry list has been clear evidence that the marine industry is continuing to invest confidently in a broad range of innovative and well-designed new products despite the difficult economic climate,' he said in a statement.

'As always, it was a difficult task for the DAME Jury judges to elect the eventual category and overall winners from such an impressive array of diverse and well-designed marine products. We were, however, very pleased that all seven categories were well represented, especially in the important areas of deck equipment, rigging, safety and navigational software.'

The DEEP BLUE is so new that as of today the details are still to appear on the Torqeedo website, which will happen this month, so here?nid=103756 is where to click when the information is updated on their site.